Jane Austen

[Courtenay]

Sense and Sensibility is indeed another brilliant one, Poppy - I remember being on the edge of my seat (almost literally... I was waiting for a train at Oxford Station) as I read those last few chapters! Jane has a great way of building up to a suspenseful climax in which things seem to be going horribly wrong and there's apparently no hope for the heroine to get the man she loves... but of course it all ends happily. I'd love to hear your thoughts on any further Austen books you read, too.

[Anita Bensoussane]

I've always liked Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey, in which fiction books read by the characters (especially lurid Gothic novels) play an important part.

[Courtenay]

I find Northanger Abbey a little different from the rest of Austen's works - it was actually the first full-length novel she completed, I believe, although it wasn't published until soon after her death, and her style is perhaps a little less developed than in her later books. Jane was quite a fan of Gothic novels herself, but was well aware they presented a wildly unrealistic picture of life, and in Northanger Abbey she has some fun portraying a naïve and impressionable young heroine who starts to take what she reads too seriously!

Another Austen novel I particularly like is Mansfield Park. It's her longest and slowest-moving to begin with - the main character starts out as a very shy, timid girl who observes the action more than taking part in it at first. But she gradually matures and becomes a quiet yet strong character who determinedly stands up for what she knows is right - even when caught painfully between a man who is in love with her but whom she doesn't trust, and the man she's always loved but who is in love with someone else. It's a little hard to get into, as I said (or so I found), but well worth persisting with.

[Moonraker]

Why is it when a thread is merged, on viewing new posts, it takes you back, not to the beginning, but say the 2nd or 3rd page. I never notice this until I see at the bottom of the page that there are several more pages to read. I then look at the date, and see I am in 2010 or some other early year!

[Anita Bensoussane]

I never use "View new posts", but that does sound odd. Perhaps the system gets confused by a thread containing posts with different titles (following a merge)?

[Daisy]

I always use "View new posts"! It seems to be the quickest way to see what's arrived since the last time I looked.

[Eddie Muir]

So do I, Daisy. It makes sense.

[floragord]

I skip through ACTIVE TOPICS for updates!

[Poppy]

The end of Sense and Sensibility was indeed gripping, Courtenay. A throughly enjoyable book, perhaps even better than Pride and Prejudice? I only prefer the locations however: the cosy Barton Cottage, and beautiful surrounding countryside. A greater bond was made between the reader and the characters in P&P.

So I've started (and am very much enjoying) Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D.James. I love the spooky and cosy text and the hooking events before the night of the ball. So original and mysterious. I have a feeling this book will be making a regular appearance in my Christmas reading list, just for such a cosy, hooking story!

I have bought all six of the Jane Austen books now from Charity Shops for the grand total of £3.20 for the lot! Got a lot of great reading ahead, no doubt!

[Courtenay]

Ooh, don't give away any spoilers for Death Comes to Pemberley - I'm hoping to read that one some time! I promise not to give away any spoilers for the rest of the original Austen works in return. (There are a few from others earlier in this thread we're now part of, so be careful if you look back at the start of it.)

[floragord]

So I've started (and am very much enjoying) Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D.James. I love the spooky and cosy text and the hooking events before the night of the ball. So original and mysterious. I have a feeling this book will be making a regular appearance in my Christmas reading list, just for such a cosy, hooking story!

Great to hear you're thoroughly enjoying this, Poppy, I very much liked the way
P D James, apparently a keen J A fan, had linked PRIDE AND PREJUDICE to her whodunit, most original and as you say, a cracking good read!

[Adithi B]

I have read Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility till now. I have heard that Jane Austin sold Pride and Prejudice to the same publisher as she sold Sense and Sensibility to for 110 euros. The publisher's name was Thomas Egerton.

[Poppy]

Great to hear you're thoroughly enjoying this, Poppy, I very much liked the way P D James, apparently a keen J A fan, had linked PRIDE AND PREJUDICE to her whodunit, most original and as you say, a cracking good read!

I also think it is wonderful how P.D.James links her profession into her personal enjoyment of Jane Austen books. She obviously highly understands Jane Austen's characters very well to be able to tackle a sequel so accurately and well. Very much enjoying it (but I'll say no more, Courtenay! )

[floragord]

Absolutely, Poppy - its not everyone who can tackle following up on a well known and much loved book with such outstanding success. One of my old favourites is Daphne du Maurier's REBECCA, and I approached the sequel MRS DE WINTER cautiously, even though Susan Hill who wrote it is a fabulous author. I greatly enjoyed it, but would the secret of what happened have been better kept - secret? The jury is still out on that one

[Farwa]

I've always liked Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey, in which fiction books read by the characters (especially lurid Gothic novels) play an important part.

I agree Anita. Northanger Abbey is a lovely book. All the excitement, and then the disappointments felt by Cathrine, can be felt by us. One of her best works, I think.
However, I happen to be reading "Pride and Prejudice" nowadays.